Midpoint of the War

Unbeknownst to anyone, the battle for Konola City had been raging for an entire day. Both the sun "Mira" and the sun "Chikasa" had begun their descent towards the horizon. The Konola City Guard had repelled enemy assaults more times than they could count. By this point in the war, both the attackers and defenders were visibly exhausted. Even powerful Professionals with strong recovery abilities were struggling to cope with the mental strain!

The war continued. Now, whether it was the initially passionate and determined enemy or the City Guard, who had gone from trembling to fighting desperately, everyone had become numb and listless. Blood had congealed on every survivor, and the city walls and ground were covered in reddish-brown stains with a strong smell of blood. The extinguished remains of burnt corpses were only marked by faint wisps of black smoke, still recounting the past tragedy!

Finally, a retreat horn, seemingly descending from the heavens, sounded. As the sky darkened, the enemy decided to temporarily withdraw. Large numbers of soldiers, their armor stained red, retreated from the base of the city walls, their iron swords still dripping blood. The surviving City Guard let out a few perfunctory cheers, as if relieved of a great burden, before collapsing onto the blood-soaked, corpse-laden city walls. The war... had come to a temporary end!

Punk stood amidst a large amount of minced flesh. If ordinary soldiers stood on piles of corpses, Punk was standing in a soup of minced meat. However, Punk was not stained by any filth. Mage Armor and Lesser Deflection Field had perfectly prevented blood from splashing onto Punk. Seeing the sun "Chikasa" about to disappear below the horizon, the last rays of twilight bidding farewell to the uneven, blood-soaked walls of Konola City, and witnessing the soldiers piously thanking their revered Deity for its "mercy," Punk curled his lip. He kicked aside a bloody, mangled head at his feet and, following the slippery stairs slick with accumulated blood, calmly walked down the city wall!

Gently clenching his still-white palm, Punk felt a slight improvement in his strength. Combat was the best way to practice magic. After a full day of "spellcasting practice," personally observing and feeling the effects and power of spells, and practicing the timing and selection of spell releases on the battlefield, had greatly helped in improving his magic experience. Now, Punk was level 6!

Feeling the tangible growth in his strength, Punk was not at all affected by the sorrow brought about by the war. Even though Konola City was filled with the sounds of grief and weeping, Punk's mood remained light and cheerful.

However, as Punk passed a shop, even Punk, who considered himself cold and ruthless, felt a flicker of... pity?

No, no, the weak never deserve pity!

It was a wooden house that had been hit by a giant rock. On the cracked and scratched shop sign, the somewhat childish characters for "Laiketa Barbecue Shop" could still be recognized... This was the barbecue shop that Punk quite liked.

The shop was now shattered by the rocks, and the surrounding ground was cracked. The blood flowing from the gaps in the rubble had dried, but Punk could still use Divination Spells, using the blood of these ordinary people as a medium to ascertain the identity and condition of their owners...

The result of the spell detection... was naturally infuriating... and perfectly logical... Both the barbecue uncle and the little loli with wide eyes who had said in a childish voice, "Big brother is so pretty," had already been... deeply "buried" underground by this giant rock...

"Poor little ones, rest in peace. Rest in peace, for I will never taste your delicious barbecue again," Punk reached out and gently touched the giant rock covered in dust and blood, then turned and continued towards the plaza...

Wasn't he also one of the weak? In such a war, his own weakness was also... insignificant!

War... it's truly unpleasant, especially when it makes one feel powerless!

In the plaza, the city defense forces were distributing food uniformly. In the Faerun plane, when a city is in a state of war, all civilian food and other "strategic materials" must be handed over to the army for unified distribution! Of course, the general distribution order is Professionals first, nobles second, then soldiers, and finally the common people!

To stockpile food in anticipation of a potentially prolonged war, all food was theoretically distributed according to "wartime standards." At least, that was the standard for the common people.

Punk saw in the plaza that large groups of civilians were lining up at a soup kitchen made of broken wood to receive a small bowl of soup made with a little wheat and a few scattered leaves of wild vegetables. Meanwhile, Professionals were choosing their meals in a temporarily requisitioned shop.

Punk picked up a slightly greasy food tray, cast Cleanse on it, and then took it to get his food.

There weren't many food options. The staple was three wheat breads. Judging by their appearance, the baker might have been killed; these breads were not only crooked and very "abstract," but the flour was also clumped together, clearly the work of an amateur. The side dishes included smoked meat, ham, and some pickled vegetables like radishes. Punk chose a piece of smoked meat that looked well-smoked, then quietly carried his tray back to the blood-soaked city wall to eat while remaining on alert!

For some "unworldly" Professionals, such a bloody and terrifying environment was definitely not a good place to eat. But for a "veteran" like Punk, eating amongst the dead was not something to be surprised about!

Punk ignored the horrified looks from a few Apprentice Level Professionals and used a relatively intact corpse as a table, eating his food heartily. Punk was currently contemplating Konola City's advantages and disadvantages and didn't have time to bother with trivial matters like tables.

Konola City, as a border city primarily exporting leather, never had a large stockpile of grain. Most of its grain was "imported" and transported via canals from other grain-producing cities. Although some farms grew Wavy Wheat, the yield was generally low. During the Greenleaf Season, the Wavy Wheat planted in the fields was merely seedlings and could not be eaten as food. Currently, Konola City had a hundred thousand troops that required ample food to sustain the battle...

"This amount of food will last at most a week. Even if the enemy merely surrounds the city without attacking, the sheer shortage of food will be enough to collapse Konola City." Punk could already confirm that unless the enemy army encountered some unforeseen problems, Konola City was bound to lose!

"But what does that have to do with me?" Punk popped a piece of moderately salty smoked meat into his mouth. He had already decided that after killing fifty more unsuspecting Professionals and exchanging for spells with Mainesi, he would leave Konola City, and also the Kingdom of Kamos, which was destined for turmoil, and head directly to the neighboring Kingdom of Dilon.

Thinking of this, Punk looked around at the other Professionals scattered around the base of the city wall. "I guess their thoughts are similar to mine. After a day of war, even those 'hot-blooded baboons' should have sobered up by now!" Just as Punk was calculating the time and opportunity in his mind, a very familiar voice came from not far away!

"Hello~~ Long time no see~ Punk!" A familiar greeting sounded from the side of the city wall stairs, carrying its usual annoying and infuriating, very irritating tone, interrupting Punk's thoughts!

The next chapter will start fighting again, please collect and vote.